When boredom strikes, many find themselves reaching for their smartphones for a video fix. However, swiping through online videos to stave off boredom may leave you feeling even less satisfied, according to new research from the American Psychological Association. “While people fast forward or skip videos to avoid boredom, paradoxically, this behavior actually makes them feel more bored,” lead author Katy Tam, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto, told The Epoch Times.
To explore how this urge to escape boredom affects digital behavior and emotions, researchers analyzed the digital switching behaviors of over 1,200 participants from the United States and students from the University of Toronto. Participants were initially shown two types of videos: one set that was engaging, and another that was dull. Researchers found that participants were more likely to fast-forward and switch videos when the content was uninteresting.
Participants anticipated that they would feel more bored if they couldn’t switch to the next video if they were bored by the current video. However, the results were counterintuitive: participants felt more bored when they had to option to switch; when they watched a continuous 10-minute video they were more satisfied and engaged. “Switching behavior makes people feel more bored, less satisfied, less engaged, and less meaningful in some instances,” wrote Tam and co-author Michael Inzlicht, a professor of psychology at the Universi.